Sharp County record., 1887-02-10
poIv nolv holy, Is the Lord God Almighty

nIucked to-day. AT lne lOOI VI 'iO
nearly nineteen centuries ago rose was
planted which blooms to-day; stoop down,
if thou wouldst pluck it. o, Tor more ol
the child-like spirit rejoice IN the De-
lief that those who come to Christ today
come aware of their sins and thelr wants,
and have learned how to fly low.
Again, these persons who come To-Day
are like doves on their way to the doVe-cole
because they fly for shelter The aloatFosS
makes a throne of the tempest; the sea
gulls find their grandest frolic IN the STORM
their merriest hour seems TO De tliaU III
which the surf of the sea piles most hisn
Not so with doves. At the first DloW ol
the northeaster they fly to the coop. Eagle
contends with eagle in mid-air, ana VulIuro
fohts vulture on the bosom Of the carcass,
Init doves at the first dash OF the Dlru ol
prey speed for shelter from merry eye anu
iron beal and loathsOme talon,
So to-day these souls come here lOr
shelter. Every one has besettng SIN;
that sin is always after you The roooer
watches YOU when you come out OF the
bank; sees in what pocket you put lhe
money: notices where you go to olne, anu
where you sleep, and what KIND OF loch
Won have on your door; so there is some SIN
ever on a mans track 1t goes with MN
to the store: it sits on the money sale; IL
looks over his shoulder while he makes out
the bill of lading; it goes out with MN 10
dine; it walks home with nm at hlSnV'
As to some dog that you do not want W
follow YOU but persists, you say 10 II:
"Back home with youn You stone II
away and start on After awhile, casually
turning your eye, you find it close after
YOU with a sneaking look.
Wherever you go, sin goes; where you
stav, sin stays You have watched Ihe
hawk above the barnyard; it sails around
and around over the brood OF chlck-
ems - around and around, now al
most down to the flock, then back again,
until at last it drops and SEXES the prey
There is hawk ready to pounce On every
dove. and that is the reason that these
doves come to-day to the WindoWs-they
want shelter in the grace OF God and IN
Christian associations. They say: II
there be any power in your prayers, let me
have them; if there be any virtue in good
counsels, give them to me; if there be any
thing elevating in Christian associations
let me feel their influence" "Where thou
dwellest l will dwell Thy people shall be
my people, thy God my GodW Open your
doors, oh, Church of God and let them
come in ''as doves to their windows"
Christ is the only shelter of the soul in
trouble. What can you do without him
when sorrow comesl Perhaps at first you
take valerian to quiet your nerves or al
cohol to revive your spirits; but have you
found any thing in the medicines or phys
ical stimulants sufficient Perhaps in the
excitement of the money market or in the
merrv-making of the club you have sought
relief. This world has no balsam Tor a
wounded soul, no shelter for bruised
spirit.
The dove in the time Of the deluge flew
north, and it was all water, in which were
tossed the carcasses of the dead world, and
the first solid thing that the doves feet
touched was the window of the ark. SO
the soul in trouble goes out in one direc-
ton and finds nothing substantial to rest
upon, and in another direction and every
whittier, but there is no rest for the dove
save the ark
"Substanta comfort will not grow
In natures barren soil;
All we can boast, till Christ we know,
But where the Lord has planted grace,
And made His glories known,
There fruits of Heavenly joys are found,
And there alone"
You lost q parent; some one said that 1t
was in the regular course Of nature that
your father should expire Did that com
fort you2 You lost child; somebody said
if that child had lived it might have turned
out badly. Did that comfort you! You
lost your property; they told you that
riches were very uncertain. You knew
that before. You were sick; they ex-
planned to you that the difficulty was in the
secretions or in the sciatlc nerve. Did
that soothe you1 o, the despicable quack-
cry of earthly comfort!
But when Christ comes to the soul and
says 81 took your estate because WANTED
to give you more valuable treasures; made
you sick in body that your soul might be
brought up to eternal health; | took your
loved ones away because have better
and brighter place for them in My own
presence the wound heals; then
the tears dry off the face; then God has
become the everlasting portion Of the soul
Oh, the air is full of black wings and
ravens beaks. They join their wings of
darkness until they shut out the light Of
the sun They have fattened on the car
casses Of men. Their clangOr is horrible
to the ear-trouble and disease and death
coming down on the wind. No wonder
these souls have come for shelter "as
doves to their windows" What does the
pigeon in the coop care for the hawk in the
sky. Safe in Christ, safe forever. The
mountains may depart, and the hills be re-
moved, but Thy loving kindness shall never
fail.
Again, these souls, like doves, fly home
Most of the winged denizens have no home :;
now they are at the north and now at the
south, as the climate indicates. This year
nest in one tree next year nest in an
other tree. The golden oriOle remains but
three months of tho year in Germany, and
is then gone; the linnet of Norway crosses
the ocean to find rest from the winters
blast; the heron, the goldfnch and tho
grossbeak are migratory; the cranes call
each other together a few days before 60
ing, choose their leader, arrange them
selves in two lines, forming an angle, and
are gone.
But the pigeons alluded to in the text
summer and winter and always, have a
home in the dove-cOte. And so Christ is the
home of those who come to Him. He is a
warm home; they rest under the feathers
Of the Almighty" Christ tells US that
chickens find not warmer place under the